Johnson City Power Board members to test new peak-time billing

The Johnson City Power Board’s board of directors voted Tuesday to be the “guinea pigs” in a pilot rollout of the utility’s peak-time use billing policy coming this fall.

Jeff Dykes, who took over as the Power Board’s president and CEO on Jan. 1, said time-of-use billing has already been adopted by the Tennessee Valley Authority and TVA’s distributors have to adapt.

The program, which charges a higher rate for electricity used during peak periods of demand, will require a huge public relations effort to educate Power Board customers on how the program will impact their bills, Dykes said.